Broken Rope
by TheLogicalDreamer
Summary: What caused Jughead and Archie to stop being friends that fateful July Fourth? Was it a long time coming? Based on the One-Shot Comic


Based on the One-shot Comic

Disclaimer: I don't own Riverdale.

...

Once upon a time, there were two kids who did everything together. They went to school together, climbed trees together, went to games together, and most importantly, ate together. They were inseparable, even with the little girl with the tight blonde ponytail following them around all the time, much to the young Jughead's vexation. He would later learn to accept her into the tightly bound rope that he had metaphorically wrapped around his friendship with Archie after she brought a bag of homemade cookies that she proudly made herself. Betty Cooper then became the only female he cared for outside of his mother and his baby sister.

Yes, the younger years of burgers, baseball games, and fireworks were those precious memories that Jughead knew he would treasure for life. Then tragedy struck, they grew up. They became teenagers and would soon start High School. Jughead wasn't worried though, he enjoyed learning and he had his two best friends by his side. He would get through high school, write a novel, then he and Betty would get into an amazing writing program in some college where Archie would play football at and then they will live happily ever after together. But how wrong those dreams were. There is no "happily ever after" in the real world, even in Riverdale, where the slogan says it's "the town of Pep!" Even cheerful things can have a darkness hidden in the cracks. Every fairytale has a dark twist in some version of the tale.

It started when Archie tried out for the Football team, Jughead didn't think much of it, Archie was in Riverdale's little league when they were kids. It was just the same old same old, he would never miss a game and they would have celebratory burgers and shakes afterward at Pop's. Not a big deal…..but yes, it was a big deal. That's when the pressures of the social status quo of high school kicked in. Archie Andrews made the football team and he was befriended by the other football players, even his longtime rival, "Reggie Mantle."

Archie was soon on top of the social ladder, everyone knew the redheaded Freshman and slowly the strings in the rope started to break one by one. As Archie was pulled to the top, Jughead remained at the bottom. He was the weird kid who liked to be alone and observe the behavior of the creatures he went to school with and always wore a stupid hat. He could see why there was no hand extended to pull him up by his friend. But at least he had Betty by his side.

Enter Kevin Keller. Son of Sheriff Keller, Kevin started his days at Riverdale high with a rough start but he soon embraced himself and found a friend in the ever understanding and likable Betty Cooper. Snap, another string breaks as another one is woven into a new friendship. Kevin and Betty did everything together and suddenly Jughead didn't see the blonde ponytail alone anymore.

If there is one thing about a Jones, they don't give up easily and they won't give up without a fight. So Jughead tried to keep the friendships alive. He would sit next to his friends in the classes they shared, he would sit at the same lunch table while ignoring the taunts made by Reggie and his sidekicks of brainless neanderthals, and would try to hang out after school at Pop's. More times than not, Archie would show up with someone else or Betty and Kevin would share a bench at a booth and chat while Jughead would stare across at them with a look of confusion and frustration as they once again were lost in their own world.

Slowly, more strings broke and then Jughead stopped trying so hard. He kept his head down and headphones on and let Archie have his moment in the sun. He'd be here when he comes back down from the tall hill on the rollercoaster of popularity. In the meantime, he found a way to fill the time. He got a job at one of his favorite places in all of Riverdale, the Twilight Drive-in.

The Drive-in had so many precious memories for him and to work there was a dream come true. He would work the ticket booth to make sure no one was sneaking in, though that was what he and his sister used to do so he would let it slide, he would then man the concession stand. It was the hardest part of the job if he was frank. Being near the tasty and salty food usually made him hungry, so he would sneak some snacks up to his favorite part of the job, projecting the movies.

Because there wasn't anyone who was there to supervise and choose what movies to watch, Jughead had the honor, though he had to do it with the theme of the night. Mondays were a Noir film, Tuesdays were Horror, Wednesdays were Westerns, Thursdays were screwball comedies, Fridays were double features, then Saturdays was usually date night, so he would play romantic films, and then Sunday was the day he cleaned the drive-in and got it ready for the next week.

Soon his nights were being filled with his job, homework, and eating many burgers while trying to find something to write his novel on. Next thing he knew, the school year was nearly over and hope of keeping his friends was losing its sparks. The fast-approaching summer looked pretty bleak. Betty was going to LA for an internship with a writer she adored, Reggie, much to his annoyance, kept bragging about how he was going to the country club to play golf all summer, and Archie was going to help his father with his construction. No plans of going to the beach or going to carnivals. Their childhood was really over.

The moment Jughead knew he must mature from his burger swallowing mayhem of not giving a care to the world was when his father came home and informed them that Fred Andrews, Archie's dad, had let him go. He played the part as innocent, pretending not to know why he would do it, but Jughead saw through it. He knew what the snake on the back of his jacket meant. Where he really went when he went on "Vacation." His mother filled him and Jellybean in when they were old enough to understand. His father made mistakes, but he took care of them the best he could and he knew that his father loved them.

His mom did her best to help his dad. She found help wanted ads and even wrote up a resume for him, but he just sunk deeper and deeper into the ocean of anger and guilt. He started drinking more heavily. He'd stumble around and scream at ghosts only he could see. Finally, his mom couldn't take it much more. She kissed Jughead and told him to stay with a friend for a while, she then took Jellybean and went to go stay with his grandparents in Toledo.

He understood why she left and told him to do the same, it was because if his dad truly lost everything, he might find the strength to pull himself out of the funk he's in and bring their family back together. But what friend could he turn to? Betty was out of the question and Archie...well they haven't really had a full conversion in a while, it would be weird to just spring that on him. WIth his packed bags he told his father that he would be staying at the Twilight Drive-in for a while and he walked out the door without a word of protest from his father.

With a heavy heart, Jughead made the projector room his new home and the rest of the Drive-in his playground. It was both paradise and a constant reminder of his loneliness. A fully stocked concession stand, free movies and within walking distance of Pop's and his school. Every night was like the summer him and Archie camped out in the Andrews backyard, fun and adventurous. But as his fun started to simmer, nagging thoughts popped into his head to remind him he was alone.

More and more Serpents started showing up for the movie nights. They would roar their motorcycles and scare preppy Riverdale Northsiders, it actually amused him so he didn't put up much fight against them being there. He also had a theory that the reason for them being there was a request from his dad to keep an eye on him. He felt a fluttering in his chest at the thought that his father did care about him. It was hard but he managed. He was very good at just getting by as the world tried to put things in his way to stumble on.

As the school year came to a close, there was only one string left holding the rope around his and Archie's friendship, but it held tight as his best friend unexpectedly slid into the booth in front of him at Pop's on one of his feeble attempts to start his novel.

It was the last day of school and Archie gave his signature grin as he greeted him as if the time hadn't slipped past them from the beginning of the school year. It was refreshing to be back there. Back where they didn't have any problems and Jughead's world wasn't falling around him.

They talked and joked like they used to. Archie asked him about his novel and revealed his sudden idea of writing poetry, though the subject wasn't dived into further than a half-hearted comment before Archie changed the direction of the conversation. He then asked him what he was doing on July Fourth.

The mention of the Fourth brought fond memories of him and Archie at Centerville watching the fireworks. He smiled and shared the memories with the redhead football player when an idea entered his mind, why not do it this year? He had enough money to go on the bus to the next town over and this could strengthen the bonds between them, They could rekindle the friendship that was slowly slipping through his grasp. When he shared the idea, Archie agreed without missing a beat. It was nice to have things back to normal for a little while and Jughead was truly happy and excited.

He and Archie texted back and forth, discussing plans for the Fourth and ideas of what to do later on in the Summer. He even heard from Betty as she called him to tell what advice her writing idol gave her. It amused him how her voice had gone an octave higher as she spoke of how much fun she was having and how much she enjoyed the freedom she had in LA without her mother's hovering. Though, she confessed her aunt was a bit odd and her house smelled funny.

He was happy that she was happy, but the call made him realize how much he missed her. They would go to each other whenever they had a bad day or if they needed someone to talk to. Most of the time what she needed to talk about was about her mom or Archie and her growing feelings for him. He didn't like those talk to be quite honest. It left his stomach in knots at the thought of her liking his best friend and it angered him but he kept it to himself. He didn't want to crush her dreams just because he had strange emotions he didn't understand.

June flew by and finally, it was July. Jughead got everything ready, even convinced Pop to make them up a picnic basket of burgers and fries for the firework show, everything was planned out to the detail. Nothing could ruin this day for him.

Nothing except for the fact when he showed up to the Andrews home Archie was nowhere to be found. Fred told him that Archie said that he left to meet up with him at the bus station downtown. Jughead, very confused, nodded in agreement, going over their conversations in his head to see if they indeed changed the plans to Archie meeting him at the bus. Nothing came up on the top of his head, but he thanked Fred and headed for the bus station.

When he got there, he immediately started to look for the familiar patch of red hair and letterman's jacket. His search proved to be useless when he couldn't find Archie anywhere. He took out his phone and texted him asking where he was. He got no reply. A half-hour later he texted again and then an hour later and then again and again. They missed their bus but there was still a chance for them to get there on time. He texted one more time and he finally got a response of "Something came up, can't go. Hope you understand."

Jughead felt numb all over. All the planning and the hopes he had were crushed and he felt like he was drowning in a pool of bottomless water trying to get back to the surface. But the more he tried the further he sunk. He was down with the Titanic now with no hope of seeing the light of sunshine again.

He took the basket he had gotten for them to share and left it by the side of the bus station where he knew the homeless liked to hang out at times. He then headed to Pop's, for once his mind was not on the novel as he took a seat in his usual spot, but on the utmost betrayal he had witnessed. He laid his arms on the table and buried his head into them as he willed himself not to fall apart.

He felt a hand on his shoulder as he lifted his head and saw Pop with his usual burger. He nodded to him in thanks as he took it from him. He was upset and for some reason that enhanced his constant hunger instead of stifled it like normal people. He sighed as he shoved the meaty and cheesy goodness into his mouth and then asked Pop for another.

He still had the empty feeling when he left Pop's for the night, but at least his stomach was filled and happy. He went up to his home of a drive-in and turned on a movie to take his mind off of what happened.

As he watched a few serpents stopped by and asked him if he wanted to go riding with them in the hills. Politely he refused and went back to his black and white films where life looked simple and happiness was given freely.

It wasn't until that morning he and the rest of the town found out about the tragedy of Jason Blossom. News traveled fast and soon the whole town was there to look at the crime scene. Cheryl Blossom, twin sister of Jason, claimed to have driven out to Sweetwater River for an early morning boat ride. The next thing we know happened for sure is that Dilton Doiley, who was leading Riverdale's Boy Scout Troop on a bird watching expedition, came upon Cheryl by the river's edge. From the time Cheryl claimed from brother drowned and till it takes them to drag through the river, Jason would probably on his way to the Hudson. There was no way for them to find him before he was lost forever.

After watching for a bit, Jughead returned to Pop's for his usual breakfast, a hamburger and a coffee. He watched the cursor on his blank page, words ready to be written, when he heard the door of the diner open and in walked Fred Andrews and Archie.

After the night to cool off, Jughead decided that he could forgive Archie if he talked to him and gave him more than "Something came up." He had lied to his dad for him, what could be more important that he had to lie to both of them?

He watched as Fred came closer to him and smiled at him, "Hey Jughead, terrible thing with Jason Blossom. Horrible. Good thing you and Archie were in Centerville yesterday. Safe from all of this." Jughead's eyes flickered to Archie's who was looked at him pleadingly to play along with it. He nodded and agreed.

Fred smiled and went over to Pop's to get their orders as Archie went closer to Jughead, "Hey, thanks for that, man."

Jughead raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, but where were you yesterday?" he questioned, wanting to give him a chance to explain himself. To give him the benefit of the doubt. But he blew it by saying, "Something came up." Jughead grew irritated and repleted the question. Archie didn't budge but told him to text him some time. Jughead never did. The last string had broken through and the rope was no longer held together. He got started on his novel about the Murder of Jason Blossom and that is what he continued to do for the rest of the Summer.


End file.
